New Delhi/Mumbai, March 18 – The controversy surrounding "Sarke Chunar" and its sexually explicit lyrics escalated from heated discussions on social media platforms to Parliament on Wednesday, with the government announcing that the song from the upcoming film "KD The Devil" had already been banned.
Actor Nora Fatehi, who appears in the video along with Sanjay Dutt, distanced herself from the controversy, stating that she had flagged the vulgarity of the Hindi version to the filmmakers. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Information and Broadcasting ministry and the Censor Board, which in turn said that it had no involvement in the matter since the song was released on YouTube.
As the issue gained momentum, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Anand Bhadoria raised it in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour. He stated that unchecked content on OTT platforms and social media was a negative influence.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw responded by saying that the song had already been banned.
"A ban has been imposed on the song. The Constitution's framers have placed certain reasonable restrictions, and we must operate within those limits. Freedom of speech cannot be absolute; it must be considered in the context of society and culture," Vaishnaw said.
"The government is ready to take any necessary actions to protect society, especially children, women, and vulnerable groups, given the rapid spread of content through digital media," he added.
The song was released on YouTube two days ago and quickly went viral due to its shock value and lyrics that almost describe a sexual act, triggering outrage on social media. The video was removed from the platform after the uproar.
"KD The Devil" is a Kannada film, dubbed in four languages, including Hindi. It will be released on April 30.
Fatehi posted a video message on Instagram to say that she was thankful for the backlash, as it prompted the makers to finally remove the song from social media.
"I also request everyone to stop sharing the song because it's giving it unnecessary publicity. On a separate note, I see some of you trying to use this as an opportunity to attack my character, which is unfortunate," Fatehi said, adding that she and her team would be more cautious in the future.
"However, I want to reiterate that I had no knowledge of this Hindi song. I did not perform it, and no permission was taken to use my image in it," she said.
The actor-dancer said she agreed to do the song because it was part of a big film and featured a star like Dutt, and she had thought it was a remake of "Layak Nahi Khalnayak Hoon Main".
"I shot this song three years ago in Kannada, which is part of the Sandalwood industry. When I was shooting this song, I relied on the filmmakers to translate it, and that's what I did. When they were translating it, nothing seemed inappropriate or vulgar," she said.
Fatehi also said the image showing her sitting on Dutt's lap, which appears on posters of the song's various language versions, is AI-generated.
"I knew we were going to have issues because at least I understand Hindi. I told the director, this is not going to be okay... I disassociated myself from the project. As you can see, I didn't promote it at all. I again flagged it to the director. I said, my image and reputation is on the line," Fatehi said.
The NHRC action came after it received a complaint alleging that the lyrics of "Sarke Chunar" contain "vulgar, sexually suggestive, and double-meaning" words which are inappropriate for public consumption, especially for children, according to the proceedings of the case on Tuesday.
Seeking the NHRC's intervention, the complainant alleged that "the increasing trend of explicit lyrical content in mainstream entertainment" contributes to "normalizing inappropriate expressions among young audiences", according to the proceedings.
It also sought a report from the certification authority concerned.
However, the censor board said that content on digital platforms is not regulated by them.
"We wish to clearly state that CBFC has not received any application seeking certification for the song 'Sarke Chunar Teri Sarke' from KD: The Devil Film. It is to be noted clearly that content on digital platforms is not certified by CBFC," the censor board said in a statement.
The original Kannada version of the song is penned by the movie's director Prem. Raqeeb Alam is credited for the Hindi version of the song, which has since been pulled down. The music is by Arjun Janya.
On Tuesday, Alam also dissociated himself from "Sarke Chunar", saying the track was a literal translation from the Kannada original and he had initially refused to write it.
"I have not written these lyrics. They were written by the film's director Prem in Kannada. When I was asked to write all this, I refused, saying such songs won't work, and will be censored too," Alam told HT City.